Yesterday was a bit busy and I didn't have time to write. Consequently, I have a whole day's worth of things to say and not enough time say them! Frustration.
However, as a quick note, there were two fantastic articles in the Times over the weekend which are well worth a read.
and...
I also want to say something about Miliband's statement yesterday. As there isn't much time to do this all I'll say is that it was good, if not a little too easy on Hamas. I was also quite taken aback by the lack of support for Israel in the House and a seeming lack of understanding among MPs - I find that quite worrying.
I am also not best pleased about the cries of war crimes; a claim which Miliband should have confronted rather than implicitly condoned. The criminals are Hamas (as per earlier post). I appreciate that Israel has made mistakes but there was no mention of the effort which the Israeli government goes to in order to minimise these civilian fatalities. For example the dropping of leaflets to warn the civilian population of impending action. People need to remember that if the IDF only had cold military objectives as their goal then they would not have given their enemy details of when they were going to attack and how they were going to do it - let's not forget that Hamas see those leaflets too, not just the civilians of Gaza.
However, despite all this I'll throw a bone to those crying out against Israel. My favourite part of Miliband's statement was this...
Israel is, meanwhile, a thriving, democratic state with an independent judiciary. However, one consequence of the distinction between a democratic Government and a terrorist organisation is that democratic Governments are held to significantly higher standards, notably by their own people. That is one reason why we supported resolution 1860—to uphold the standards on which Israel and the rest of us depend. As a beacon of democracy in the middle east, Israel’s best defence is to show leadership in finding a political solution to the crisis and comply with the standards of international humanitarian law.
He is absolutely right. It is those high standards which I am proud of and would never let slip. And it's why Israel should be criticised when it acts outside of international law... more on this later.
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